Hello there wonderful readers, time for the usual stuff before we get the show on the road!
AnimeMyWorld: I genuinely don't know what you're referring to. I've never had a pairing on the character list. Perhaps you confused this story with another one?
DarkMaster10000000: Okay, I'mma be a bit blunt here. Do not expect the god cards until after the 7 year time-skip. They're WAY too OP to be around until any point before then. I get all the excitement surrounding them, but I need to establish some sense of scaling with the cards. We are gonna get more summon variety well before then, so please just have some patience.
Abdur Rauf Aymaan: My release schedule has unfortunately started to follow George R.R. Martin's recently, but I do hope to fix that. As for the sage mode stuff, no. Nature Spirits were primarily introduced to give more species variety to the world of FT which doesn't have a lot in the first place. As for the Phoenix thing, I dunno. Never really considered something like that since I'll have more focus on God and Devil Slayers in this story.
Okay then, with all that done, please enjoy!
"H-Hey Reedus, can't you make some ice cubes or something?" Wakaba panted as he fanned himself with his hands vigorously, his wrists becoming sore.
Instead of wasting his energy on words, the painter simply used his magic to create a large pile of the commodity whose value surpassed even diamonds right now. Unfortunately, as soon as the chilled water touched the deck of the ship, they immediately melted into lukewarm water before evaporating in mere seconds.
Wakaba slouched his head in utter defeat at that.
"Heh, what's the matter pal? Can't take the heat." Macao grinned.
"Don't give me that crap! Your face is redder than a tomato!" Wakaba belted as Macao sweated enough to fill a bathtub.
Poor Wan would've complained if he wasn't hanging off the edge of the boat, both spewing his guts overboard and losing all his water weight from the heat.
"Tch. Old guys need to pipe down." Laxus scoffed as he could feel how drenched he himself was due to the heat. This was on top of having to fight against the dreaded motion sickness he was feeling. "More importantly, how the hell is he managing this?" The blonde scowled at the casually relaxing Matt, reading a book as he sat in a chair.
Matt was quite thankful he still had leftover painkillers from Porlyusica to quell his headaches on trips like these.
"Hey Macao, wanna go for another round of Poker?" The teen teased.
"Bite me!"
"Don't listen to him kid, that's his wife's job." Wakaba couldn't resist the temptation to mess with his friend.
"Guh! How the hell do you know that?!" The fire mage cried in shock.
"How the hell could I not know? You do a piss poor job of hiding those hickey's man." Wakaba sighed.
"Awfully bold of you two to mention this stuff around a teen." Matt joked.
""YOU HANG OUT WITH GILDARTS!"" The duo bit back.
"...Fair enough." He conceded, returning to his book.
These made up the dynamics of the group until the island in question was in sight. The ship dropped anchor a ways away from the island as Makarov stood on the railing, overlooking the group.
"Tenrou Island: the place where your future lies in wait. Now, allow me to explain how this trial shall go. This trial will be broken up into three sections. The first will require you to find one four hidden maps all around the island, all of them are the same, so only one is needed. However, since there are only four maps available, I'm sure you all understand what this entails."
A silent nod came from the gathered six mages, urging Makarov to continue.
"The second should be quite obvious: on those maps is a certain location on the island. All you need to do is simply reach it. Finally, you must acquire the item in question. However, don't expect the process of getting to it to be easy."
Some of the group dryly swallowed at that implication, noticing the lack of a certain S-class anywhere on the boat.
"As for the rules, it's quite simple. Your only rule: do not kill any of your guild mates. You may fight, you may work together until the end, anything goes so long as you adhere to that rule. Now, are there any questions?" The old man asked the audience.
Matt raised a hand after noticing no one else ask anything.
"Yes?"
"When do the trials start?"
"Whenever you wish for them to."
"I see. Then, I have something to say to everyone here." The tone of his voice made even Laxus listen with intent. "I want you all to know, that no matter what, you guys will always be..."
The five blinked when the teen suddenly disappeared from sight. Only then did they realize, he'd already jumped off the boat.
"SSSSSUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKEEEEERRRRRSSSSS!!!" Matt gloated as the rune-infused leap sent him hurdling towards the island easily.
"""...EEEEEEHHHHHH?!?!""" The collective group cried in shock as they realized he'd played them like fiddles.
"Tch. I won't let you get away that easily!" Laxus scowled and chased after the teen, liberated of that floating hellhole.
"O-Oi! Wakaba! Make a smoke boat for us or something!" Macao barked at his friend.
"Are you crazy?! How the hell am I gonna do that?! Smoke ain't buoyant dumbass!"
Reedus simply made a small boat for himself as he sailed off towards the island, quite pleased he was in third right now.
"Oh to hell with this!" Macao dove over the edge of the ship, opting to swim.
"Wait up!" Wakaba followed him shortly after.
Makarov sighed before a grin crept up on his wrinkled features.
"Go my children, seize your futures." The old man proudly spoke before looking down. "Wan, would you like some help onto the island?"
"Yes please Master..." The seasick mage politely asked.
Matt's feet buried themselves into the sand, kicking up a cloud of the fine earth. The mage hacked and waved his hands around, trying to clear the air.
"Ptooie!" He spat, "Stuck the landing, made a mess of the aftershow."
His eye caught the lightning form of Laxus flying into the trees.
"Sheesh. He's not wasting any time." Matt sighed. "Now then. If I were a map placed by a perverted Master, where would I be...?" The teen decided to walk in a random direction for now.
Reedus' ship finally hit the shore after a few minutes of brief, but quite nice sailing. The vessel dispersed as the magic was removed. Reedus had to stop himself from immediately sitting down and sketching the breath-taking view of the ocean from here. His resolve steeled, he too marched into the unknown.
Macao and Wakaba immediately fell to the wet sand, huffing and puffing as they recovered from that swim.
"Next time... we bring... a boat." Macao barely got out.
"Bold of you... to think... we get a "next time"." The chainsmoker started to regret his habit.
"Aw shut up..."
"Where is it?" Laxus quickly scanned around, looking for any indication of where his grandfather may have hid a map.
The blonde had an advantage over the other competitors... well, competitor if he was being more honest. Makarov loved to play things like hide and seek when he was a brat. All he had to do was remember the kinds of places Makarov liked to put hidden things.
He slowly made his way closer to the center of the isle, keeping an eye out for anything odd.
'C'mon Laxus, think! You know the old man better than anyone else here... you have to.' He shook his head, ending that train of thought before a glint of sunlight caught his eye.
A smirk arose on the teens face as he spotted a rolled-up map in some kind of nest, the metalic-looking seal reflecting the light just right to be noticed.
"Gotcha." The blonde leapt up to the large branch, carefully stepping over to the nest that was even bigger than him. "Come to- hey!" Just as his hand reached for the paper, a large bird swooped in and grabbed it, flying off.
"Get back here you flying rat!" He growled, immediately giving chase across the treetops. 'I will not loose! I refuse to let this slip between my fingers! Especially not to him of all people!' The blonde's frustration rose as the bird led him to a coastline where a flock of its friends awaited.
"Bring it on!" Lightning crackled off his body as the mage readied himself for a fight.
"He's being reckless, even by normal standards." Matt commented as he sat atop a branch, gazing through some binoculars.
"Kuri?" The flying furball returned to the teen.
"Why huh...?"
Laxus, Matt and Reedus had been the first to arrive at the designated meeting spot ahead of the other half of the group. The trio sat around on the docks in the meantime, biding their time with something.
"I'm using the restroom." Laxus lazily spoke before walking off.
"I see, so he gets the nervous pees eh?" Matt chuckled to himself as he continued to read his rune book. "Hey Reedus, do you know if Master is already here?" He asked.
"..." Reedus diligently worked on his current sketch of the ocean, his mind blocking out all sounds and distractions.
"Heh, looks like he's too invested in that right now. Oh well, I can wait." The teen's face awkwardly shifted as he felt the familiar call. "But nature never does."
Matt closed the book and stood up from his crate of a sitting spot. A yawn and stretch escaped from him as he walked over to the restrooms. He was surprised how isolated the docks were today, then again it was holiday season. Most imports from the south and north slow down pretty drastically due to freezing weather.
As the mage went to enter the restroom, he heard a familiar voice.
"You have to win damnit!" Laxus' fist met the wall, cracking the tile.
Matt stopped in his tracks, hiding by the entrance.
"You have to prove you aren't just a shadow! You have to prove to them all you aren't second-rate! You have to show them that you're strong! That you're Laxus and not just a grandson!"
Laxus' hands bled as his fingernails dug into the soft flesh.
"You have to win! This is your last shot!"
Matt kept silent as he walked off, heading back to the docks.
"Nothing that really matters for you..." He spoke to Kuriboh. "Anyways, did you find what I asked for?"
"Kuri!" It happily nodded.
"Alright then, let's get going." Matt hopped off.
Macao and Wakaba had opted to work together for now, figuring their odds of getting two maps was better together.
"Let's try this way." Wakaba pointed to some nearby rocks.
"Why? I doubt he'd anything in plain sight." Macao questioned the logic.
"Just trust me alright, I got a good feeling about it." Wakaba eased his friend's worries as they approached the rocks.
"Hold it right there!" A voice spoke up out of sight, causing the two to freeze and hide.
"Does that sound like someone we know?" Macao questioned.
"Who the hell are you? This island is Fairy Tail property!" The smoker belted.
"Ya I knew it was you. I could smell ya getting off the boat!" Both men slowly went to sniff their pits awkwardly. "You was here last night too, wasn't ya?"
"Wh-What?!" Wakaba cried.
"I knew it! That hunch was way too accurate for you!" Macao accused his friend.
"You was here... and you were smoochin' with Makarov weren't ya?!"
Wakaba's jaw hit the floor, "Like hell I was! I like women! Especially ones that aren't anchient ya freak!"
"Don't gimmie that! You been smoochin' with everybody! Gildarts, Reedus, Jura, Serena with the gimped pride, Arcadios, Toma, Warrod, Macao."
Both men did a collective spit-take at that.
""WE'RE DATING WOMEN YA FREAK!""
"Wait! You're seeing someone?!" Macao reeled back in shock.
"Uh..." The smoker froze, realizing he'd given that away.
"All right, I believe you."
"Damn straight you do-"
"But my Tommy Gun don't!"
""HE'S PACKING HEAT?!"" Both men scrambled for cover.
"Get down on your knees and tell me ya love me." The voice demanded.
"Is he serious?!" Wakaba grumbled.
"Just do it! These rocks are not good cover!"
Both men reluctantly fell to their knees.
""I... love you..."" They shivered in disgust.
"Ya gotta do better than that!"
""I LOVE YOU!"" Both men felt like vomiting.
"Maybe I'm off my rocker, but I believe ya. That's why I'm gonna let ya go. I'm gonna give you to the count of three to ger your lousy, lyin', low-down, four-flushin' carcass out my territory! 1... 2..."
The earth itself rumbled as the attack hammered the duo, the voice cackling in glee as it let loose. Macao and Wakaba scrambling off, away from the madness.
"3!" The attack stopped. "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal." Once more the attack continued before abruptly stopping. "And a Happy New Year."
Shortly afterwards, a Cubina Gamal stepped out, reaching for some low-hanging leaves to snack on. A dull expression on its face.
"Hold it right there!" It spoke to no one.
"What the hell was that?!" The blue-haired mage panted, leaning against a tree.
"How am I supposed to know?!" Wakaba replied, really not enjoying all the exercise they were doing.
Matt approached the cave his flying companion pointed out to him.
"Huh, sure enough." He spotted the paper atop a mound. The teen squinted before he finally recognized said mound. "Ah, it's you."
The mound shook and turned around, revealing a mouth with lots of sharp teeth and a pair of angry eyes.
"Lazy Name." He jokingly growled.
The carnivore let out a loud roar, causing Matt's face to scrunch up in disgust.
"Criminy! That could peel the paint off walls." He coughed at the disgusting smell. "I don't have time for this." Matt pulled out a pair of cards. "Contact Fusion."
From behind him, the large form of Grand Neos appeared, its massive drill arm ready.
"You know what to do." He spoke to the monster who nodded, diving underground.
The Rollidillo snarled at Matt before freezing, only understanding what had happened when it was stuck in a pitfall trap. It attempted to wiggle its way out, only to realize a foothold at this angle was impossible.
Matt casually walked up atop the beast and grabbed the paper.
"Thank you poorly named sir... or madam. Can't really tell from here." He shrugged before opening the paper, still standing nonchalantly on something that desperately wanted him dead. "Let's see here..."
Reedus sprinted for dear life as a herd of Hodras' chased after him, the massive pigs stampeded in hot pursuit.
"Pict Magic: Magma Wave!" The artist quickly threw together the image of magma on his exposed arm, the molten liquid shooting out to the sandy floor.
His effort produced success as the herd stopped in its tracks, Reedus smirked before quickly readying his follow-up.
"Pict Magic: Avian Rush!" From the same arm shot a flock of Fioran Sawtooth's, nasty birds in the northern parts of the country. The razor-sharp teeth within their beaks shredded apart small prey, even sometimes allowing a group to kill far larger animals.
With his opponents firmly neutralized, Reedus rushed ahead furthur. The mage's expression perked up as he saw a map atop some ruins, tied to a pillar via a string.
A triumphant smile on his face combined with tunnel vision disallowed Reedus to dodge the foot smashing his head into the ground. The blonde teen disregard Reedus the second he was incapacitated.
"I shouldn't be wasting time on small fry like you, but I can't take any chances against that bastard pulling something." Laxus scowled as he walked over to the map, setting it ablaze. "Old man said the only rule was no killing. Didn't say a thing about taking out the competition in another way."
His job done, Laxus quickly shot back into the forest.
Wan slowly walked around the large forest of the island, completely unaware of what to expect.
The odd sounds of an animal caught his ear as he saw a rather cute squirrel look down at him.
"Aw. Well aren't you cute." He squatted down and pulled out a small baggie of nuts from his pocket, offering one to the small critter.
Quickly, the Squirrel made its way to the ground. Oddly it held its hands out like a person would, but the mage disregarded this.
The animal grabbed the nut and quickly took a bite. Almost immediately after it began to spit out the food and furiously rub its tongue.
"Oh right, those nuts are spicy." Wan chuckled, "Sorry about that... little... guy...?"
Wan dryly swallowed at the glare given to him by the creature. The Squirrel proceeded to let out a wolf whistle, causing a small army of the creatures to appear around the mage.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh. Parley?" He offered nervously.
With a dry expression, the Squirrel snapped its fingers, causing a horde of the critters to attack.
Wan's screams were silenced by the overwhelming power of chipmunk. Their buck teeth biting into him.
He swore to take this experience to his grave without telling a soul.
Macao and Wakaba panted for air like their lungs were about to leap out of their mouths. Between the two of them: a single map.
"What the hell... kind of sadist is Master?!" The fire mage barely got out.
"I dunno... takes a special kind of messed up to put a map in a place surrounded by pissed off... Dosco... Doaca... Doci... THE BIG FUCKING DINOSAURS...!!" Wakaba roared, already frustrated enough as-is.
After a moment, the duo had finally settled down.
"Now then..." Macao gazed at the map.
"Yeah..." Wakaba replied slowly.
A silence enveloped the two as they pondered their options. Surely Matt and Laxus already had maps by now, that much was obvious. Now the question remained: do they risk wasting time to get another map? Or do they fight for the one they have...?
Wakaba's expression was unreadable as he gazed at the paper, a ticket to surefire stardom and success.
Macao also housed an unidentifiable face as he pondered just how much this map really weighed.
""Take it."" The friends spoke simultaneously.
""W-What?!""
""WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT DUMBASS?!""
""STOP COPYING ME!!""
Macao broke the endless loop first, "You need it a hell of a lot more than me! I already got my own kind of future alright?"
"Me?! You're the one with a damn kid coming literally any minute right now! You got a family to take care of! These jobs'll pay for practically anything!" Wakaba quickly shot back.
"I don't need some dumb title to take home damnit!" Macao bit his lip, the memories of the days leading up to this all flooding back.
The fire mage stepped into the small, but quaint home.
"Enno, I'm home!" He spoke up as he stepped into the living room, bags of takeout in-hand. Ever since the pregnancy had gotten to this point, Macao absolutely forbade his wife from any strenuous activity. Already knowing how exhausting giving birth is after seeing some of his other family members be born.
"Welcome home." The dancer smiled, her swollen belly being gently caressed by her hands. Her smile soon faded as she gazed into Macao's guilty expression. "What's wrong? Did something happen at the guild?" The woman genuinely missed being able to visit Fairy Tail, but master had forced a maternity leave on her.
"Yeah... you could say that." He set the bags down on a table with a sigh. Macao took a seat on the couch next to his wife. "Master announced that the S-class trials were coming back."
"And let me guess, you didn't get picked." The woman teased innocently, figuring his mood to disappointment.
"...No."
"...Eh?"
"I got picked. Wakaba, Reedus, Wan, Laxus, Matt and I all got selected to participate. We'd leave for Tenrou in two weeks." Macao spoke grimly.
"That's... that's amazing!" The dancer stood and hugged her husband. "Oh I'm so proud of you Macao! All your hard work is finally paying off!" A wide smile beamed on her face, but quickly drifted away as her husband wasn't so enthusiastic. "Macao...? What's wrong?"
"...I...I'm gonna reject the offer." He spat out.
"B-But why?! This is the opportunity you always wanted! You could really show everyone that hard work pays off!" Enno protested, adamant in her views.
"I know!" He shouted, "But..." Macao gazed at his baby... their baby. "They're due anytime now. For all we know you could go into labor the second I leave!" The mage bit his lip in frustration. "I wanna be there to see my child... our child be born. I can't just abandon you during such an important moment to fulfill some pipe dream."
Enno closely looked at her husband before using her hands to force eye contact.
"Macao Euro Conbolt, when the opportunity arrives for anyone to claim their happiness, to fulfill their dreams, no matter the scale, they should take it without apology."
"B-But-"
"No buts! I don't care if you aren't there for when our child is born. Our child won't either... mostly because they won't remember." The woman joked a bit. "All that matters, is that you walk through that door the next time a man who knows he tried his best. Win or lose, we will both still love you just the same."
"Enno..." Macao was completely taken aback by the woman's encouragement.
"So do us both proud, and never give up on your dreams!"
Macao's lip quivered, tears rolling down his face and snot leaking from his nose. He quickly shot an arm up to wipe away the warm water before facing his wife again.
"YEAH!!"
"You damn idiot! That's exactly why you should take the map! You have a family to make proud! I ain't got shit!" Wakaba growled.
"Bullshit! You're gonna be married and have a kid someday too dumbass! This title is a surefire way to guarantee that kid'll have a good future!"
"And what makes you think that'll make me happy?! I'm perfectly happy with how things are right now asshole!"
"Well I am too jackass!"
The duo glared into each others eyes for a seemingly boundless eternity... until.
"Pft..."
"Keh..."
""Hahahahaha!!!"" Both men burst out into laughter, clutching their sides as tears rolled down their cheeks.
It took a moment, but finally the men settled.
"So..." Macao started.
"The hell are we gonna do with this...?" Wakaba pondered.
Before the thought could continue, an unbelievably powerful magic aura was felt by them.
"That feeling..." The fire mage dryly swallowed.
"No mistaking it, even if we only felt it once before..." Wakaba's hand slightly shook.
In a moment of clarity, both men gazed into the others eyes, a smirk rising on their faces.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Macao rolled his shoulder.
"Damn right I am." Wakaba lit a new cigarette.
Wordlessly, the duo rushed off to the feeling, leaving the map behind on the ground.
From up above, a small blonde girl smiled at the sight before fading away.
Matt scowled as he slowly approached the location on the map, well, the back entrance that is.
His eyes slowly rose up with his head, gazing at the truly magnificent Tenrou Tree. Easily the height of a mountain, this tree was most likely the source of all the odd feelings Matt got from the island.
A slow exhale got the teen focused as he rushed to the hole that'd lead him into the next area.
"Well well, looks like my gut was right." A voice spoke, emerging from the entrance. "I figured you'd try and be sneaky about this, going in the route not on the map."
"That voice... heh, just my rotten luck." A bitter smile angled itself on Matt's lips.
"I've been itching for a round 2 ya know? I could feel how much stronger you've gotten since we last went at it." Gildarts emerged from the shadows, an anticipatory look on his face.
"Great... just what I needed."
"Laxus'll be here before too long. I'd give him a solid three or four minutes til' be gets here." Gildarts cracked his knuckles.
"So I gotta get past you before then is what you're saying. Whose side are you on anyways?"
"I'm on the side of making sure you got what it takes. S-class is nothing to take lightly ya know. Comes with a lot of invisible responsibility."
"Heh. Are you saying I need those lessons more than Laxus of all people?"
"Makarov can drill those into him, but there are some things only I can teach you brats." The mage extended an arm. "So come on," his magic power flared up massively. "Show me what you got."
Matt's eyes scanned around the area. 'No caves to trap him in below... I could try using my magic to restrain him... no, he'd break through that effortlessly right now. I could try that... no. Even being as familiar as I am with his magic, I'm still way too inexperienced to try something at that level. He'd blow through any monsters I summon before I could get past him, and I can't waste too much energy since the next phase is a complete mystery... Then, my only option...'
"Is to blow right through me, correct?" Gildarts grinned, already guessing Matt's mental gymnastics.
"Tch. Got no choice then." He summoned Kusanagi to his right hand, the left grasping the handle.
"Come at me with everything you have!" Gildarts proclaimed as Matt's foot dug itself into the ground, his sole lighting up to prepare a massive leap.
"Hold it a minute!"
"Yeah, settle down you two!"
Both combatants looked behind Matt, the pair in shock as Macao and Wakaba approached.
"You two...? Heh, didn't think you'd make it so far." Gildarts admitted, impressed by them.
"Don't patronize us old man." Macao shot back.
"O-Old man..." Gildarts reeled back.
"Get going kid, we'll deal with this guy." Wakaba exhaled some smoke.
"Are you guys suddenly suicidal? You wouldn't last a minute!" Matt spoke the obvious truth.
"You saying you can't run past his ass in a minute?" Macao popped his knuckles.
Matt's eyes slowly widened, realizing what they're doing.
"...Thank you." Matt nodded, placing his blade back into his Requip Space.
The teen made a mad dash towards Gildarts, leaping above him.
"Now hold on there-" Gildarts raised his arm to catch Matt's ankle.
"Purple Whip!"
A whip of violet flame snared the man's wrist, yanking it down.
"Smoke Boomerang!"
From Wakaba's mouth, a torrent of smoke whipped through the air, colliding with Gildarts' ankle.
With the force of two men, and having to awkwardly shift his body to try and grab Matt, the mage plummeted to the floor. The middle-aged dad rolled down the massive roots of the tree and landed on the ground.
"Etetete. You two are awfully determined today." Gildarts chuckled, dusting himself off as he stood.
"We both realized something earlier." Macao took a fighting stance.
"We're getting too old to hang around with that kid's generation. Unfortunately, looks like we missed the train to that future." Wakaba widened his legs.
"But ya know what? Now that that old train is gone, we got a pretty nice view of what's all around us."
"Bout' time we stepped aside and made sure the people who'll actually board that thing can get there at all."
"That's where our pride as Fairy Tail members lie."
"And that's more than enough for a couple of old fools like us."
Gildarts stared at the two in shock momentarily before he bursted into laughter, a razor-sharp smile on his face.
"Well I'd certainly look bad if I didn't accept that kind of feeling," the older mage took a stance. "And returned it in kind! Come on!"
""HAAAAAAA!!!""
The duo charged into the unwinnable battle without a single regret, stupid grins on their faces.
Laxus quickly entered the tree, the path closing right behind him.
"Does that mean only one person can get in...? No, the old man wouldn't rig it like that."
Even after taking out another map, that still left two for others to use. Which means this section was at least guaranteed for four people.
"If it's closed off, then that means... shit!"
The blonde quickly rushed inside to find himself above a massive underground area. Colossal, building-sized roots mixed with the earth to form the walls, floor and ceiling of the cavern. He quickly saw Matt on the opposite end of the room, having arrived just before him.
"Welcome you two!" Makarov's voice boomed from above, his form standing atop a root between the young mages. "This is the final test to determine who is worthy to become an S-class wizard." His hand gestured below. "Down there you'll see your objective: the Remembrance Mirror. A magic item that allows the user to gaze into a past memory if they look into it."
Sure enough, the silver mirror was sat atop a pedestal in the middle of the room.
"All you must do is simply retrieve it. However..." Makarov snapped his fingers, the earth all around the rook shot up, stopping just shy of hitting the ceiling.
"You'll have to navigate this maze first. Be warned, there are some nasty surprises within." That's all the Master said before allowing the boys to continue with the final obstacle.
"Tch, a maze?" Laxus clicked his tongue. "Whatever. I'll just rush through it!" The blonde took his lightning form, zigging and zagging around the sharp angled turns of the maze.
"Heh. This is nothi-" The teen slammed head-first into a wall that suddenly appeared, the maze having shifted. Laxus rubbed his head, a frustrated glare meeting stone. "Crafty old bastard."
In comparison, Matt slowly crept through the area.
'There must be some trick to this. Master isn't the type to do anything of this scale unevenly.'
The distant sounds of shifting caught his ear. Matt scowled as he noticed a path behind him that wasn't there before.
'The maze changes? Is this in relation to progress, or a tool to make us think the true path changed? Unless I could see the maze from an aerial view, that'd be impossible to tell-' Matt stopped his train of thought, realizing something. 'I don't need to see... I need to feel.'
He approached the wall in front of him, his eyes tilting upwards as he observed the monolithic scale.
"Your magic already operates on the principle of copying what you already know and making it solid. This typically consists of turning magical power into psudeo-physical matter like iron or wood." Zeke spoke to the teen. "However, there's a far more useful application that even the original creator of this magic never got around to testing. This isn't even mentioning the fact he never even got to try out the idea of pure magical power weaponry."
"Okay, you have me on the edge of my seat." Matt rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, I just haven't gotten to do something like this in a while." Zeke scratched the back of his head, an embarrassed flush to his his cheeks. "Regardless, the path is quite simple: what if you could read and copy the very flow of magic itself?"
"...Okay, now I know you're fucking with me." Matt admitted.
"I assure you, I'm being very serious." Zeke shook his head. "Magic is alive. Magic is all of us. It exists in everything and everyone. Each person's own magic feels different doesn't it? The feeling I get from you is... unique to say the least."
"Yeah, I know all of that. But you're saying I'd copy that person's very magic power. That's just straight-up impossible."
"When did I say you'd be copying a person's magic power? You should be rather familiar with the fact that every magic has it's own unique methodology and curriculum. It's own unique heartbeat." Zeke clarified.
"But I can already do very basic forms of other magic with runes."
"Correct: basic magic limited to the available runes. Runes are a very versatile a powerful tool, but they have hard limits. They're only as strong as the magic power channeled to write it, they don't draw directly from the user unless carved into the flesh in some manner, they can only remain stable with a set amount of magic, vastly limiting the power they could use, and you're limited to an alphabet. With this method: you could theoretically perform a wide array of basic abilities runes could never hope to cover. You could create attacks that defy all logic and ensure your ability to fight at full power. But most importantly, if you could read the heartbeat of magic, you may even be able to replicate the feats only achieved by a specific class of warrior."
"Okay, you have my attention with that. What do you mean?" Matt perked up.
Zeke grinned, "The feat one must perform besides defeating the current holder in single combat to achieve the title of the ultimate warrior Nakagami: magic cancellation."
Matt's hand pressed against the stone, he closed his eyes and dulled his senses. He felt for it: the heartbeat of the magic in this spell. Matt knew for a fact he couldn't cancel this; that was a level of ability that'd take a kind of set-up and learning Matt just isn't capable of right now.
The teen focused, forging the native sense of feeling magic power into something else: a tool. The ability to read the heartbeat, the flow of one's magic was not a simple task. That feat alone took months of work, meditating in absolute silence. Even then, it still takes time to perform.
Around the teen, the world faded away. Darkness enveloped him as he pressed and pressed. Thought dissipated, feeling released its grip on Matt's soul.
Badum
He found it.
Matt opened his eyes, a triumphant smile on his face.
"Gotcha."
Laxus had adopted the strategy of trying out every route, but slowing just before turns or forks in the path. So far he'd eliminated virtually every option, stubbornly finding the correct path.
Fortunately, there's only so many fake roads and dead ends one can use while keeping it fair.
The blonde skidded to a halt as he gazed down a corridor, at the end: the mirror.
"Looks like its my win." He grinned.
"Yup! Thanks for the moral support buddy!" Matt patted his shoulder as he darted past Laxus.
"...H-Hey!" Makarov's grandson immediately gave chase.
Both of their heads turned around when they saw the very earth itself come after them, Matt barely avoiding a raised rock meant to trip him. Laxus was forced to his legs as the ceiling began to lower, stopping his lightning form.
"This won't stop me old man!" Laxus growled as he pushed his legs to the limit, barely keeping up with Matt.
In his desperate attempt to pull ahead, Laxus' ankle was ensnared by the ground. His chin collided with the floor, blood seeping from the wound.
Matt stopped as Laxus desperately tried to break free, his magic nowhere near focused enough in this state to overpower Makarov's.
The King looked back-and-forth between the mirror and Laxus. A firm gaze formed along his brow.
"Move!"
Laxus barely had time to comply before he barely saw the sword in Matt's right arm. It was quite simplistic, but unlike any sword Laxus had ever seen. A shining, light purple weapon that appeared to weigh even less than a feather. However, the dark edge that fluctuated in lighter and darker purple glowed so strongly, Laxus knew that nothing he'd ever seen, or ever would see, could come close to that kind of sharpness.
The blade severed the tendril, not the cleanest cut, but a cut nonetheless.
"Get up!" Matt shoved the teen to his feet, both of them rushing forward to their goal.
All around them, the maze collapsed as all the stops were pulled by Makarov.
Only one of them would make it.
Adrenaline raced through both teens to such a level that all rational thought went out the door. Practical methods to make victory easier were tossed aside as the silver mirror was all they saw.
Closer and closer.
The smell of the metal was caught by Laxus.
Matt saw his own reflection in the glass.
Both teens leapt forward, their hands reaching out to grasp the mirror: their future.
A bright light blinded Makarov. The the old man stepped back, rubbing his eyes in pain. Once they had adjusted after a moment, he gazed downwards.
"I see..."
Macao and Wakaba rested against a tree, bloody, bruised all over, and completely spent.
Gildarts sat nearby along with Reedus, who was sporting a splitting headache, and Wan, who didn't answer anyone's inquiries as to why he was covered in scratches and bites.
The path to the cavern opened up, all five men perked up as Makarov stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"The winner of the S-class trials this year..."
Matt walked forward to one side of the old man. Laxus took the other, blood dripping down his face and neck.
Makarov's arm shot out behind him towards the victor.
Matt stepped forward, tossing the mirror in one hand as he walked past Makarov.
"Laxus Dreyar!"
Well... I bet at least one of you didn't see that coming.
Welcome back my lovely readers to another chapter of Where's the Schedule?!
This chapter was kinda odd to write. Originally I planned to split the trials into 2 chapters, but it moreso became a chapter and a half if anything.
My eage-eyed readers certainly noticed some odd discrepancies between Makarov's announcement and the actual ending of the trials, guess you'll have to wait and find out why the hell Laxus got a big boo-boo on his head... No actually do anticipate the next chapter it will genuinely have some crazy shit in it.
So the trials themselves were quite simple. They didn't need to be complex and over-the-top for this. Writing some fun interactions between the mages and animals was enjoyable, poor Wan being the butt monkey of this series.
So I tried something a bit different with some flashbacks here. Kinda iffy about whether it worked or not for all the cases of it here, but it is what it is and I wanted some more practice with them.
I can see some people already getting to type about the complete cock-tease of Matt vs. Gildarts 2. Well don't worry, it will happen... eventually.
So. Matt's next step with his magic. I don't think I did the best job painting the image I intend it to be, magica jargon and theory is genuinely a pain to write with most of the time. It'll be much easier to comprehend when we actually get more fights and more of it gets shown off, one good case coming pretty soon. The biggest thing we'll see of it for now is weaponry made of pure magical power. Matt's ability with them is still rough for now, that edge at mastery would be practically black and sharper than obsidian, but he's still working on it.
As for the whole Nakagami thing... wait for the next arc. I'd put a winky face here but I dunno how to do that without being really awkward as a 22 year-old man typing that.
I also totally didn't almost miss a typo where Wan would've offered a bag of nut to that small animal. Me here at the King of Games writing room does not condone the sexual abuse of animals... ya sick freaks.
As I mentioned, the next chapter is gonna have some shit man. A very familiar face will appear that I'm pretty sure most of you wouldn't expect in a million years. And we'll finally get a closer look as to just what the hell is really going on with Matt ever since he met Zeref.
Until next time, I bid you all adieu.